Batman Ends?
by Bimefl
Summary: Set sometime after Batman Begins. In a plot to make Gotham safe for criminals Dr. Jonathan Crane kidnaps several including Rachel Dawes. Will he be the one who brings Batman down? Full summery inside. Yes, Bruce does get OOC so...
1. Chapter 1

**Summery:** Jonathan Crane is hired by someone completely different this time. The goal is to make Gotham safe for criminals once and for all. To do so he kidnaps cops' kid's, including one intriging teenager, to blackmail them and Rachel Dawes to draw Batman to his death. Will it work or will this be the end of Scarecrow?

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Insanity is something to be marveled at, not trampled with medications. At least that's how Jonathon Crane saw it. Why should those who have insight into our primitive workings be silenced? So much _good_ could come out of madness. He should know. After recovering from a nearly lethal dose of his own hallucinogen Dr. Crane was well aware of the benefits that insanity holds. In his short stint as insane he gathered enough information to write a book about it. Not that he hadn't had enough information before, of course.

Besides the information about insanity, Jonathon had come across another bit of knowledge that would prove very useful to his next scheme. He was going to make Gotham City safe for criminals once again. The sum of money he was receiving for this task was so large he doubted if he could spend it all even if he tried, but research was expensive, and his passion.

Crane knew that the Batman would be an annoyance but this new information would take care of that easily. He had discovered who the Batman was: Bruce Wayne. Gotham's prodigal son some would say.

He allowed himself a small smile as he watched a woman in a business suit walk up the stair to Arkham Asylum. _Perfect,_ he thought. She was flanked by several police officers but they bent to his wishes now. After the kidnapping of a child, anybody became pliable. He held them not for ransom, but for insurance that they wouldn't back out of their deal. He took the prison overflow and they gave his establishment an inspection-free time.

The woman was none other than Rachel Dawes, a very pesky employee of the DA's office who Jonathon had butted heads with in the past. In fact the last time she was here she had been under the effects of his hallucinogenic gas. That had been fun. She thought she was here to gather evidence for a case against him, should he ever reappear.

He turned away from the window of his office and sat down at his desk. It was immaculate, as was the rest of his office. He liked to keep things clean and neat. Once he had even self-diagnosed himself with OCD but no, his neatness did not interfere with his life; it aided it. It kept his research neat, his files organized, and his life simple.

There was a scream and sounds of a small struggle before the door to his office burst open and Ms. Dawes was hauled in by a cop on each side. Crane grinned as they threw her down onto the chair on the other side of his desk. She struggled but each officer firmly placed a hand on her shoulders to keep her seated.

"Ms. Dawes, I wish I could say I was pleasantly surprised to see you but I'm not," he said flat and without emotion. He folded his hands on the desk in front of him before adding, "Well, at least I'm not surprised." She squirmed at that.

"Dr. Crane," she coolly greeted. "I must say I've got to hand it to you. Bribing the cops to lure me here. I suppose this is the part where you tell me I won't be meddling in your affairs any longer?" The sarcasm was a cover for her fear and they both knew it. Rachel thought he was going to kill her. She was right, but he had other things to do first.

"Your assumption hurts me. Why would I stoop to using clichés to threaten you when I could have simply had you killed already?" He paused, adjusting his glasses. "No, for the moment you will live, but only as long as you're useful. Then I'll kill you since you seem so eager for that to happen."

"And just why am I useful?" she spat. In response Jonathon waved the cops away and they left, shutting the door on the way out. Rachel looked nervously around and then back at Crane.

"You have of course heard of this Batman," he stated plainly. She nodded and Crane stood and paced around behind her. She tried to keep him sight but he redirected her head to face forward with one hand. Her breath caught in her throat. Leaning over her shoulder he could almost smell her fear and he loved it. Gently he spoke into her ear as though he was speaking to a child. "I have reason to believe that he won't want you to come to harm."

"He doesn't want any citizen of Gotham to be hurt," she managed to whisper, leaning away from Jonathon's face. _He couldn't know. It's not possible._ He laughed but there was not joy behind it. There was pure insanity. Walking around to face her he crouched down so they were at eye level and placed his hands on the chair's armrests.

"Come now, Rachel," she winced at his casual use of her name. "We're both intelligent, reasonable adults here." _Oh, yes, _she thought. _Insane doctors are most reasonable._ "Allow me to be blunt. You are valuable to me because you are valuable to Batman, or should I say Bruce Wayne?" He grinned, enjoying the struggle on her face not to give away that she knew.

"I don't know –"

"What I'm talking about?" he finished for her. "I think you do. Remember, I'm a psychiatrist. I'm trained to be able to tell when someone is lying and you, Ms. Dawes, are a terrible liar."

There was a long silence in which they studied each other's faces for some sign of a weakness. "Very well. Your point has been made." Rachel took a deep breath before continuing. "What makes you think Bruce Wayne will care about me?"

"He has proven my theory already when he came to your rescue before." He stood and turned away from her to look out the window over Gotham. She took her cue and kicked out his knees with her high heels. He buckled and she ran for the door, almost making it there before a security guard opened the door and grabbed her, stopping her escape.

Jonathon pushed himself up using the desk. Pulling off his glasses he brushed his dark hair back out of his eyes. "Put her down with the children. I'm sure she can find some sympathy there." He watched the guard haul Rachel out as she shot him a dirty glare. He met it with his own icy blue glare and did not turn away until the door had closed behind them.

Sitting down at his desk he picked up a legal pad and jotted some notes.

Hostile to authority figures 

_Hides anger and fear moderately well but cannot lie_

It was the beginning of his research into this fascinating girl. He didn't have long. Soon he would need to kill her, but until then she would be an interesting case study. He added her name to his mental list of intelligent patients. The only other name on the list was Christine Fellmen, the 16-year-old daughter of Michael Fellmen, one of the members of Gotham's police force.

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Christine sat with her back against the wall, watching the other kids. She was the oldest by at least 9 years making her the only one not oblivious to their situation. It became clear to her the first time Dr. Crane had visited them why they were here. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back allowing memories to flood her mind.

_His lab coat was stark white, as was everything else in the room, from the 8 cots to the ceiling. "Hello, there," he said to all of them, voice falsely sweet. She recognized his face from the newspapers. Standing she ignored the several kids grabbing her legs._

_"Let us go," she had demanded. Her long black hair hung down strait into her eyes and without a thought she brushed it behind her ear. _

_"Christine, isn't it?" he asked politely. "There's no need to alarm the children. Certainly you must know that they won't be harmed." He stepped towards her casually._

_"Yes it is Christine. And you must be Dr. Crane," she said trying to keep her tone light to not, as he had said, alarm the children. "I've heard of your work _rehabilitating _criminals. Just what interest would you have in us?"_

_"It's really not you that interests me," he told her, eyes watching the various children. "But let's not talk about it now. I brought some toys for everyone." A guard came in with a large bag, which he set on the ground next to Dr. Crane. The ignorant kids flocked to it and spilled its contents on the ground, happy to play without a care._

_Christine followed slowly, watching from a distance. Dr. Crane walked to stand by her side. Unconsciously she stepped away. He smiled._

_"I know you're not as stupid as they are," he quietly spoke to her. "But I also know that if you try to do anything _disruptive_ it wouldn't be good for the children's health."_

_"Why are you doing this?" she asked, near to tears in her anger. She turned so she was facing him and he did the same. "They're only kids."_

_"Yes and you're only an innocent teenager," he mocked. "Life isn't fair. It's not your fault that your father chose the profession that he did but now here you are."_

_"So that's it. You're blackmailing police officers by kidnapping their kids?" She glanced at the children, not aware of their circumstances. "You're a sick freak," she spat._

_" So I've been told, but they haven't proved it yet," he grinned. Walking away he knelt down to talk with a child around 4. The boy smiled at him and Crane continued to the door sparing only a glance back at Christine whose eyes hadn't left him._

Opening her eyes she saw the door open but it wasn't Dr. Crane this time. A young woman in her mid 20's was shoved in. She had wavy brown hair and wore a business suit. A glimmer of hope flashed in Christine.

Rachel looked around, still furious. She was in a room with 7 kids and a teenager. There were cots lined up against the walls and a pile of toys in the middle of the room. The children were crawling over it and hardly noticed her arrival. One who did turned to the teenager in the back and said, "Look, Christine! A new friend!"

Christine had already seen her and was making her way to the woman. "Tell me you're here to get us out," she pleaded.

"Unfortunately it looks like I'm the newest addition," the woman sighed. "My name is Rachel Dawes, I work for the DA."

"I'm Christine Fellmen. My father is a police officer. Come on and sit down, you look like you've had a rough day." Christine led Rachel to sit on one of the cots. There they exchanged stories and information about the events thus far.

"So he's going to kill Batman?" Christine asked, vaguely amused.

"He's going to lure him here using me and then kill him, and then kill me." Rachel looked around nervously, a bad habit of hers.

"Can he be killed?" Christine wondered aloud.

"He's only human," Rachel told her. "The greatest gift and curse of humanity is mortality."


	2. Chapter 2

Setting down the phone Jonathon leaned back in his chair with a content look on his face. Soon his merry mayhem could begin. He had just gotten off the phone with none other than Bruce Wayne. Of course he didn't reveal his identity but his message had been short and clear. Come down to Arkham Asylum or that which he held dear would die in his place.

Although Crane didn't relish the thought of murder, he somehow couldn't see minding it when Batman would be the one dying. That one man had caused him quite a headache when his last plan had not gone as he wished. Besides Gotham could use a few less do-gooders. All he had to do now was wait.

Rachel and Christine were sitting, talking over any plans they could come up with to get Rachel out of there. She was the only one who had to worry about being killed and therefore was a high priority.

"We could sneak you out on the food cart," Christine suggested. She had exhausted most of her logical plans long ago.

"No," Rachel replied. "They'd be able to tell it wasn't empty with me on it." She sighed and tugged her blouse strait.

"Well how about knocking out the aide who gives the kids their sedatives at night, stealing her clothes, and leaving that way?" She bounced a ball on the ground repeatedly catching it again.

"That might work," Rachel said. "What does this woman look like?" If they looked remotely close she would go with this plan. It sounded as though she stood half a chance.

"She's a little shorter than you, and older, but I don't think it will matter. At night the halls are so dim you can barely see anyway." Christine stopped bouncing the ball and looked at Rachel. "You know, this is actually the first good idea we've come up with."

"I agree. So it's settled. That's how I'll get out. Then I can warn Batman that it's a trap before he comes." A panicked thought came to her. "What if Crane has already told Batman?"

"We'll just have to take our chances," Christine sighed. She looked over at the children playing on the floor. They had no idea what danger they were truly in. The world they lived in was so simple and she found herself wishing she could go back.

The door once more opened and a demented version of the lunch lady came in pushing a cart full of trays. She parked it by the door and left leaving them to eat.

The children noticed it and looked to Christine who stood and passed out the trays one by one. For the ones who couldn't carry them she set them down for them to eat off of. The meal today reminded her of dog food with a side of baby poo so once again she decided not to eat. It had been at least 4 days since she had eaten a full meal. Sure she sometimes picked at the food there but never really ate it. Christine just could not find a reason to trust Jonathon Crane to feed them safe food.

Rachel followed suit with Christine and didn't touch the food. She settled back down onto a cot and closed her eyes. Her head was pounding and soon she knew a headache would come. Ignoring it she looked around for a weapon she could use to knock out the night aide. She decided she would use a toy truck that looked to have some weight to it. With that figured out she turned to see Christine had lain down and was faking sleep. Rachel grinned and went back to watching the kids.

Across town a very worried Bruce Wayne was rushing to his cave. The voice on the phone had been so familiar yet he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. The man had made it clear he knew whom Batman really was and who would die for him if he did not come to Arkham Asylum. He didn't even say her name but Bruce knew it had to be Rachel. The only other person he really cared for was Alfred and he was upstairs, not at Arkham Asylum.

Jumping into his car, lovingly nicknamed the Bat mobile, Bruce sped out of the cave and into the evening. It wasn't quite dark yet but it was dark enough to hide in. He raced through town heedless of the near collisions he was causing. Coming to one of the bridges that crossed to one of the bridges that crossed into the Narrows he cursed, seeing it was up to let a boat through. _Oh well, _he thought_, it's never stopped me before._ Punching the accelerator he jumped the gap and landed safely on the other side.

Poor street urchins jumped out of his way as the sped down the small streets. Finally reaching his destination he slammed on the brakes and the Bat mobile slid to a stop. He got out slowly, watching every movement the shadows made. Needless to say, he himself was being watched.

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Jonathon looked down at the large car, if you could call it that, which had pulled up in front of the Asylum. Turning away he went out the door of his office and down the elevator to greet his new visitor. Moments after he had reached the foyer the doors burst open to reveal none other than Batman. _Right on time,_ Jonathon thought.

The children were getting sleepy and began to slump on their cots. As if on cue the door opened to reveal the aide to give the kids their sedatives. The door thudded shut behind her and the lock clicked. The woman glanced at Rachel as though she hadn't known she would be there but shrugged it off and went to the child opposite Rachel and Christine. The pair glanced at each other and nodded.

Rachel grabbed the toy truck and used all of her strength to slam it into the back of the woman's head. Christine hushed the children and kept them from crying loudly enough to alert the guards outside of the door.

Rachel dragged the woman into the bathroom and stripped the clothes off of her limp body. Piece by piece she replaced her own with the woman's and visa versa. Coming out of the bathroom she placed the woman in an empty cot and pulled the covers over her. Digging in the pocket of the uniform she was wearing she found the keys to open the door. Looking back at Christine and the children she said, "I won't leave you here forever, ok?"

"Don't worry about it," Christine said. "Now go!" Taking her advice Rachel opened the door and walked out. The guards said nothing to her as she walked by so she kept her mouth shut and continued like she knew where she was going. Coming to an elevator she calmly got in and pressed the button labeled G for ground. After the doors had closed she slumped against the back wall and let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. _Just calm down,_ she told herself. _Everything will work out fine._

After what seemed like an eternity the elevator doors opened and Rachel stepped out. What she saw made her gasp and almost scream.

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"Rachel!" cried Batman. "Let her go, Crane." His mind spun as he stepped towards her.

"Bruce," she screamed back. "It's a trap don't-" Her words were cut off by a hand at her throat.

"What she meant to say was don't take another step or else her short pathetic life will end," Jonathan said from behind Rachel. Her fear was getting him high. He tightened his grip on her neck only slightly causing Batman to cry out.

"I can see you're past reasoning," Bruce said. "Just let her go. This is between you and me." He spoke calmly although he was far from that.

"Is it really?" Crane released Rachel who tried to run to Bruce. Somewhere between her third and fourth step a shot rang out and she fell to the ground with a dull thud. Blood poured out of her chest from a wound that had obviously punctured a lung. Jonathan pocketed the gun and walked to her. Batman beat him there, however, and was holding Rachel's hand in his.

"I'm so sorry," he cried. "It should be me dead not you." She chocked and sputtered, blood running from her mouth. "No don't. Shhhh. Don't worry, I'll save you."

"It's too late, Batman," said Crane who had donned his Scarecrow mask. In his hand he held a dose of his new and improved hallucinogen, one that Batman was not immune to. "She's already dead to you. I know it and you know it."

Bruce hung his head over Rachel's almost limp body, close enough to hear her last word: "Run…" Her body went limp in his arms and he cried, unable to bring himself to deal with the situation.

"It's your fault, you know," Scarecrow continued. "If only you could have let Gotham be, then maybe Rachel would still be alive. You feared this would happen, and now it has. Her blood is on your hands. You took her life to save yours." His accusations continued, not really following logical order but then again Bruce wasn't thinking logically.

All that Crane said was true. Rachel would still be alive if it wasn't for him. He might as well have been the one who shot her. _It's all my fault. I killed her. I took a human life. I killed her. _He barely even heard Crane talking anymore. He just sat and cried.

"All of this is your fault, Bruce," Jonathan said kneeling down next to Batman and removing the gun from his pocket. "It would be better if you didn't live at all." Silence rang out as Scarecrow placed the gun next to Bruce's hand and sprayed out the hallucinogen, although he wasn't sure he would even need it. The guy was an emotional wreck and this had set him over the edge. Walking away Jonathan removed the mask and looked at the broken man, smiling. Being a psychiatrist definitely gave him the edge in verbal warfare.

Bruce looked at the gun and picked it up, feeling the weight in his hand as he had the day he was going to kill his parent's murderer. He ran his hands down the cold steel barrel and glanced at Rachel's face one last time. It looked peaceful. She was in heaven and he knew it. Never again would he see her. Turning his face upward he bid this world goodbye.

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**A.N. **Suicide is a serious matter and I do not by any means intend to turn it into a spectacle or theatrical act. If you or anyone you know feels like they want to die or kill themselves please tell someone. As a person who has been there and come back from the edge I know that there are a lot of steps between where you are and suicide. There's always something.

Also not eating is not something I encourage or make light of either. Anorexia nervosa is a serious disease and should not be ignored or belittled. Christine is not anorexic she just refuses to eat the food there.

I'm not sure if this is the end of the story. I'd like to write more about Jonathan's observations of the children. I may or may not attach that to this story.


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